A Message from the President
May 5, 2015
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kelly Overley Cronin as Vice President for Advancement for UTRGV. She will join the university on May 11.
Dr. Cronin brings 16 years of successful development work experience. She has directed capital campaigns, personally cultivated major gifts, managed large staffs, transformed development organizations and departments and has worked effectively with university leaders, staff, donors and volunteers.
Having worked at a border institution (The University of Texas at El Paso) and an emerging medical school (Texas Tech Medical School in El Paso), she understands the fundraising challenges and opportunities that come with the creation of a new university and medical school.
Her strong ties to the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas also make her an excellent choice to lead our development team. Her mother is from Benavides, near Falfurrias, and her grandmother was born in McAllen. She is a member of the Canales, Oliveira and Salinas families. She says she is excited to be making her home now in the Valley to be close to her family.
Prior to joining UTRGV, Dr. Cronin was Executive Vice President of Institutional Advancement at the University of Colorado System. She was responsible for all fundraising efforts at all four of the university component institutions.
At Texas Tech University System, she served as the Vice Chancellor of Institutional Advancement and Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Tech Foundation. She provided leadership and vision to implement and complete a $1 billion capital campaign and led a development team that raised more than $150 million annually. She also managed the operations of the Texas Tech Foundation, which oversees an endowment of more than $1 billion.
As Senior Director of Development for the School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, she identified, cultivated, solicited and received a cash gift of $50 million from one donor. This was significant, as the school had no alumni base for fundraising and had to rely on building relationships in the community and creating awareness for the School of Medicine.
Dr. Cronin began her career in higher education at The University of Texas at El Paso as a major gifts officer for the College of Engineering and Science. She was instrumental in raising more than $15 million for the construction of two buildings.
Dr. Cronin served as Director of Development for Saint Clément’s Episcopal Parish School in El Paso. She directed a $5 million capital campaign to build a recreation center for the school. She also worked as an elementary school teacher for the Socorro Independent School District in El Paso.
Please help me welcome Dr. Cronin to the UTRGV family.
Guy Bailey
Founding President